On Wednesday, 23 September 2026, a round table titled “How to Make Local Budgets in BiH More Open and Accessible for Civil Society Organizations and Vulnerable Social Groups?” was held in Banja Luka.

The event organized by Center for Research and Studies GEA and International Budget Partnership gathered representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) and local self-government units, as well as representatives of associations advocating for the interests of persons with disabilities.

Goran Vasić of the City Organization of the Blind Prnjavor shared experiences from the field, presenting how open and accessible local budget documents are for blind and visually impaired persons.

The central part of the programme was a joint discussion on the opportunities and challenges CSO representatives face in the budget process at the level of local self-government units, and on how to make budgets more open to vulnerable groups. The discussion covered following topics:

• budget preparation and early consultations,
• budget adoption and participation in public hearings,
• budget execution and oversight,
• a checklist for the accessibility of budget documents,
• the “Citizens’ Budget” model and examples of good practice from BiH and the region,
• guidelines for including CSOs and vulnerable groups in all phases of the budget cycle.

The round table concluded with a discussion and a summary of the main conclusions